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DOI: 10.4172/2157-7048.1000230
Chemical Engineering & Process Technology
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ISSN: 2157-7048

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Research Article
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OpenAccess
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SO2 Emission Control and Finding a Way Out to Produce Sulphuric Acid
from Industrial SO2 Emission
Papiya Roy1*and Arghya Sardar2
1
University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada
2
Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC), India

Abstract
Sulphur dioxide (SO2) is one of a group of highly reactive gases known as “oxides of sulphur”. SO2 is linked with
a number of adverse effects on the respiratory system and other environmental issues. It is an important industrial
emission gas which causes several difficulties in the environment like acid rain. Sulphur dioxide is a ubiquitous
component of fuel combustion exhausts and one of the first air pollutants to be regulated all over world. Several
approaches have been adopted to reduce SO2 content in the environment. One of the most difficult environmental
problems facing industry is how to economically control SO2 emissions. Conversion of H2SO4 from SO2, which could be
a great impact on reducing pollution. Production of sulphuric acid is one of the best choice considering its economical
values and utilities. This paper addresses the different processes to control SO2 and to use SO2 in most economic and
productive way to reduce SO2 effect in environment. A review of various treatment methods has been provided and a
brief description of each process has been included and their technical applicability is also compared.

Keywords: Sulphuric acid; Sulphur dioxide; Scrubber; Reduction;
Oxidation
Introduction
Six common air pollutants were identified as criteria pollutants in
the Clean Air Act of 1970. Sulphur dioxide (SO2) is one of them, the
other five being carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, ozone and
particulate matter. High level of sulphur dioxide emission is associated
with various ecological damages and health problems. Sulphur dioxide
is harmful to health and it also contributes to acidification of soil
and water. The major health issues are respiratory illness, breathing
difficulties etc. [1]. Short-term exposure to SO2 may cause wheezing,
chest tightness and shortness of breath. Longer-term exposure to
sulphur dioxide in conjunction with high levels of particulate soot
may result in respiratory illness, alterations in the lungs' defenses and
aggravation of existing cardiovascular disease. The environmental
effects of SO2 are detrimental. It reacts on the surface of a variety of
airborne solid particles. It is soluble in water and can be oxidized
within airborne water droplets to form sulphuric acid (H2SO4), which
falls as acid precipitation, or “acid rain”. Acid rain pollutes and acidifies
the soil.
Combustion of conventional fuels i.e. hard coal and brown coal, oil
and natural gas cause pollution of the atmosphere with sulphur oxides
(SO2 and SO3), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and dust. Discontinuing use
of these energy sources in the nearest future seems unlikely. Hence,
the only acceptable solution is application of appropriate technologies
and equipment eliminating substances hazardous for the environment
formed from fuels or after combustion of waste gases. The emission
of SO2 from coal-fired boilers is regulated strictly in many countries.
The increase in coal uses will also result in an increase in sulphur
dioxide emission. There are many methods available for controlling
the emission of SO2 of coal-fired boilers. Methods of removing SO2
from boiler and furnace exhaust gases have been studied for over 150
years. Tall flue gas stacks disperse emissions by diluting the pollutants
in ambient air. Once SO2 is released into the atmosphere, it may be
converted to other compounds and/or removed from the atmosphere
by various mechanisms. Processes such as oxidation, wet deposition,
dry deposition, absorption by vegetation and by soil, dissolution into
water and other processes contribute to the removal of SO2 from the
atmosphere. As recent environmental concern enforces more strict
regulations of the emission of SO2, the treatment of SO2 in flue gas has
attracted increasing attention. So the approaches to address this issue
have been to reduce emission of SO2 as well as conversion of SO2 to
sulphuric acid. Historically, there has been a multitude of processes for
SO2 emission control.
In flue gas cleaning processes, SO2 is usually removed by absorption
with lime (CaOH2·2H2O) or other compounds having high alkalinity.
State of-the-art desulphurization can remove more than 98% of the
SO2 from the flue gas. SO2 is therefore removed from the atmosphere
either unchanged or in the form of sulphuric acid and sulphates.
The conversion of SO2 to sulphuric acid and sulphates represents
approximately 10% of the rate of removal of SO2 from the atmosphere.
The different process of sulphur dioxide removal from various sulphur
operations and production of sulphuric acid from this SO2 is studied
in this paper. It presents a detailed overview of the trends in control of
SO2 emissions from industrial sources and also discusses technologies
for production of sulphuric acid from SO2 emission. Broadly, the
following discussions are presented in five sections. (1) Various sources
of SO2 emissions are discussed. (2) Detailed overview of various
approaches for SO2 emission control. (3) Selection of appropriate flue-
gas desulphurisation technique. (4) Trends in the technologies for
recovery of sulphuric acid from SO2 emission (5) Conclusion.
Sources of Sulphur Dioxide
Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are regulated air pollutants.
They are usually emitted from industrial, transportation and domestic
activities and in many occasions simultaneously. Sulphur dioxide is
introduced in environment as a result of both natural phenomena and
*Corresponding author: Papiya Roy, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada. Tel:
913324742323, E-mail: papiya.roy@gmail.com
Received April 20, 2015; Accepted May 30, 2015; Published June 10, 2015
Citation: Roy P, Sardar A (2015) SO2 Emission Control and Finding a Way Out
to Produce Sulphuric Acid from Industrial SO2 Emission. J Chem Eng Process
Technol 6: 230. doi:10.4172/2157-7048.1000230
Copyright: © 2015 Roy P, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and
source are credited.

J Chem Eng Process Technol

ISSN: 2157-7048 JCEPT, an open access journal Volume 6 • Issue 2 • 1000230
Citation: Roy P, Sardar A (2015) SO2 Emission Control and Finding a Way Out to Produce Sulphuric Acid from Industrial SO2 Emission. J Chem Eng
Process Technol 6: 230. doi:10.4172/2157-7048.1000230
anthropogenic activities such as combustion of fossil fuels, oxidation
of organic material in soil, volcanic eruptions, biomass combustion
etc. [2]. Fossil fuels, including coal, oil and to a lesser extent gas,
contain sulphur both in organic and inorganic form. Urbanization
and industrialization contribute to the addition of SO2 in environment.
Also meteorological condition affects significantly the amount of SO2
in environment.
The largest sources of SO2 emissions are from fossil fuel combustion
at power plants (73%) and other industrial facilities (20%). In a thermal
power plant SO2 is generally produced when sulphur containing fuel
is combusted. Smaller sources of SO2 emissions include industrial
processes such as extracting metal from ore, and the burning of high
sulphur containing fuels by locomotives, large ships, and non-road
equipment.
All conventional fossil fuels contain various sulphur bound organic
and inorganic compounds and their sulphur content present as follows:
• Wood and cellulose rich biomass (<0.1 %)
• Natural gas (0-15 percent)
• Crude oil (0.3 to several percent)
• Coal (0.5 to >3.0 percent)
Fossil fuels like coal and crude oil deposits typically contain 1-2%
sulphur by weight [3]. Combustion of fossil fuel thus is the major cause
of anthropogenic emission of SO2 in the environment. SO2 is derived
from various plants with other gases, like coal power plant, furnace off
gases, sulphuric acid plants, cement industry, ship emission etc. [1,4-
7]. The cargo and passenger ships sailing on sea routes were the largest
sources of SO2 along with other pollutants like NOx and PM emissions
of waterborne traffic in Finnish and nearby sea and lake areas in 2000.
Sulphur dioxide is found in many industrial gases emanating
from plants involved in roasting, smelting and sintering sulphide
ores, or gases from power plants burning high sulphur coal or fuel
oils or other sulphurous ores or other industrial operations involved
in the combustion of sulphur-bearing fuels, such as fuel oil. One of
the more difficult environmental problems facing industry is how to
economically control SO2 emissions from these sources.
Approaches and Strategies for SO2 Emission Control
Various methods for SO2 control are based on either prevention of
SO2 ­pollution or end-of-pipe treatment of flue gases. But small-scale
flue gas cleaning is often impractical and not feasible; substitution of
sulphur-containing fuels by clean fuel is desirable. Various approaches
for controlling SO2 emissions include [8]: saturated with moisture. Regenaretive systems use expensive sorbents
• Use of clean fuel: This includes either switching to a fuel with
reduced amount of sulphur or else a reduction of fuel-sulphur
before its firing. Since SO2 emissions are directly proportional
to the sulphur content of fuel, and also to the amount of fired,
a reduction in emissions can be achieved by switching to low-
sulphur fuels and to higher quality ones.
• Removal of sulphur from the fuel: This includes coal washing.
Hence various cleaning methods have been developed for
desulphurizing sulphur-bearing fuels prior to their firing.
Sometimes this is associated with changes in the physical
characteristic of the fuel, resulting in operational problems.
• Preventing production and release of SO2 during combustion:
Several technologies have been developed to control SO2
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ISSN: 2157-7048 JCEPT, an open access journal
Page 2 of 7
emission during combustion, however only few of them have
been commercialized. The most developed are the fluidized bed
combustion and integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC).
• Flue gas desulphurization: The end-of-pipe treatment is based on
flue gas desulphurization (FGD). The flue gas is treated before it
is emitted into the atmosphere via the stack.
All of these methods can be used separately, or in conjunction
with each other, depending on the quality of the fuel and the emissions
requirements. The immediate focus of this paper is on flue gas
desulphurisation (FGD) process. FGD technology is used to remove
SO2 from exhaust flue gases. FGD systems have been installed and
operated on many industrial and utility boilers and on some industrial
processes for a number of years [9]. These systems are capable of
removing approximately 70 to 90% of the SO2 in the flue gas, depending
on the operating conditions of the system. Some systems have achieved
an SO2-removal efficiency of greater than 95%.
FGD technique offers several advantages such as:
• Effect of concentration: Fuel contains sulphur in a more
concentrated solid or liquid form; in flue gas it is considerably
diluted by nitrogen and excess combustion air.
• Effect of scale: Using clean fuel, desulphurized at refineries
is simpler than installing pollution control at each small or
medium-sized plant.
• Resource conservation: Desulphurization separates sulphur
from fuel, yielding elemental sulphur that is marketable, easily
recovered, shipped and handled.
Classification of FGD systems
In order to minimise the adverse effects of sulphur dioxide and
sulphur trioxide on the environment, many power plants and industrial
facilities use flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) scrubbers to remove SO2
and SO3 from combustion gases. F1ue gas desulphurization systems
can be broadly categorized as (1) Throw away or once through and (2)
Recovery systems or regenerative system. In the throwaway systems,
the sulphur removed from the flue gas is rejected from the process in a
waste sludge [10]. In recovery systems, the sulphur-absorbing reagent
is regenerated for recirculation to the flue gas contacting device and the
sulphur removed from the flue gas is converted into its elemental form
or into sulphuric acid.
Both once-through and regenerative technologies can be classified
into wet and dry types. The wet processes involve production of wet
slurry wastes as by products. The flue gas leaving the absorbent is
that are recovered by stripping sulphur oxides from the scrubbing
medium. These produce useful by products including sulphur, sulphuric
acid and gypsum. Recovery systems have generally higher capital costs
than throwaway systems but lower waste disposal requirements and
costs. The dry processes produce dry waste material and the flue gas
leaving the absorbent is not saturated with moisture. SO2 recovery
efficiency of the dry processes (50-60%) is considerably less than the
wet ones (93-98%) [9,11]. However, in recent times dry processes with
more than 90% SO2 removal efficiency are available.
Wet scrubber: In the wet scrubbing technique, slurry of an
alkaline chemical reagent is used to absorb SO2, and the gaseous SO2
is converted into either a liquid or solid by product. The dominant
choices for commercial installations have been the wet, throwaway
(lime/limestone) systems.
Volume 6 • Issue 2 • 1000230
Citation: Roy P, Sardar A (2015) SO2 Emission Control and Finding a Way Out to Produce Sulphuric Acid from Industrial SO2 Emission. J Chem Eng
Process Technol 6: 230. doi:10.4172/2157-7048.1000230
Lime/limestone scrubbing: There are several types of wet non-
regenerative processes. Among these lime/limestone scrubbing is the
most popular. Frequently, limestone is used as the sorbent, generating
gypsum as a by-product. Usually counter current vertical oriented
spray tower is used as absorbent application. When the fraction of the
CaSO4 is more than 15%, gypsum scale is formed. The lime stone forced
oxidation (LSFO) process prevents this scale formation by forcing
oxidation of CaSO3 to CaSO4 by blowing air into the reaction tank or
into an additional hold tank.
In the United States, over 90% of U.S. flue gas desulphurization
system capacity uses lime or limestone. This trend will likely continue
into the next phase of federally mandated SO2 reduction from coal
burning power plants. These are about 80% of the market share and
are used in large utility boilers. This is due to the high SO2 removal
efficiency achieved and low costs involved.
Limestone/gypsum system: Globally the most commonly used flue
gas desulphurization system is based on limestone/gypsum system. It
involves mixing of crushed limestone/lime with water to form a slurry
and spraying it into the sulphur containing flue gases. The sorbent
reacts with SO2 and forms an aqueous slurry of calcium sulphite. About
90% SO2 removal can be achieved. Limestone-gypsum wet flue gas
desulphurization method is most widely accepted due to its efficiency
and reliability [12].
Sodium (hydroxide) scrubbing: The throw away sodium FGD
systems have been used mostly on industrial boilers. These systems
use a sodium scrubbing liquor that is very efficient in absorbing SO2
emissions. They produce liquid wastes that can cause waste disposal
problems. FGD systems used on utility boilers generate large quantities
of liquid wastes. Therefore, throwaway-sodium systems have mainly
been used on industrial boilers.
Ammonia scrubbing: Ammonia is used as a reagent and by
product is ammonium sulphite, which can be used as a fertilizer. Based
on extensive operation of this process, several advantages have been
reported by Evans et al. [2009] [13]. Unlike the calcium based wet FGD,
no CO2 is produced in this process, and waste water discharge is also
minimized. Scaling or blockage problems are unlikely. However, high
capital cost and a large footprint are the disadvantages [13].
Seawater scrubbing process: Due to its natural alkalinity, seawater
can absorb acidic gases. In this process, flue gases flow counter current
to seawater in an absorption tower. The sea water gets heated and the
flue gas is cooled. SO2 in the flue gases is absorbed by the sea water and
then passes to a water treatment plant where further seawater is added
to increase the pH. Air is supplied to oxidize the SO2 to sulphite and
to saturate the seawater with oxygen. This system can remove up to
99% SO2. There is no disposal of waste to the land, but heavy metals
and chlorides are present in the water released to the sear. Sea water
scrubbing has found application in coal and oil-fired power plants,
metal smelters, oil refineries, petrochemical industries and chemical
processing plants. However, this process is suitable only for plants in
the coastal area.
Magnesium oxide: Magnesium oxide (MgO) slurry is sometimes
used as an alternative. SO2 absorbed in the scrubber slurry forms
insoluble magnesium sulphite (MgSO3), which is oxidized by injected
oxygen to form MgSO4. MgSO3 and MgSO4 are used in acid plants to
produce SO2 for sulphuric acid production.
Magnesium hydroxide: This process can achieve higher than
98% SO2 removal efficiency, and is compact, simple and involve
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less equipment [14]. Hence it has a low capital cost. Its use is much
widespread in Japan.
Spray dry system: Slurry of alkali sorbent is injected into the flue
gases in a fine spray. Usually slaked lime is used as alkali sorbent. The
water evaporates due to heat from the flue gases, and the flue gases get
cooled. SO2 in the flue gases reacts with the drying sorbent to form a
solid reaction product. No waste water is produced in this process.
Circulating dry scrubber (or fluidized bed FGD): It has high SO2
removal efficiency with extremely low water consumption. It has the
ability to bridge the size gap between spray dryer absorber and wet
FGD technology.
Wet regenerative processes
Wet regenerative processes include Wellman-Lord Process and
DESONOX processes. The basic principles of the Wellman Lord
process consist of removing highly diluted SO2 from the flue gas in
the absorption section and then turning it into rich SO2 gas in the
regeneration section. In the absorption stage, ash, hydrogen chloride,
hydrogen fluoride and SO3 are removed as the hot flue gases are
passed through a pre-scrubber. The gases are then cooled and fed into
the absorption tower where a saturated solution of sodium sulphite
is sprayed from the top onto the flue gases, which reacts with the
SO2 to form sodium bisulphite. The concentrated bisulphite is then
collected and passed to an evaporation system for regeneration. In the
regeneration stage, steam is used to break down sodium bisulphite. The
sodium sulphite produced is recycled back to the flue gases.
Wellman-Lord FGD systems have been used to reduce SO2
emissions from utility and industrial boilers and from a number of
industrial processes. These systems have the advantage of regenerating
the scrubbing liquor and producing a saleable product instead of a
sludge that can be a disposal problem. However, these systems are
more expensive to install and operate than lime, limestone, or dual-
alkali systems. The DESONOX process is a combined catalytic process
by which nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide are separated from the
flue gas. Sulphuric acid is obtained as the final product which can be
used in the chemical industry. Residual dust and aerosols are also
collected from the flue gas.
Dual alkali: A sodium hydroxide and sodium sulphite solution
is used in the scrubbing system. Reaction of this solution with SO2
produces a solution of sodium bisulphite and sodium sulphite.
This reacts with lime or limestone outside the scrubber to produce
a precipitate of calcium salts containing calcium sulphite. After
dewatering the solids are disposed of in a landfill. The liquid fraction
containing soluble salts is recirculated to the absorber. The use of dual-
alkali systems on utility boilers is attractive because of their ability to
remove SO2 very efficiently and to reduce scaling problems. The system
has zero liquid discharge and eliminates the need for a waste water
discharge permit. Using lime to capture the SO2 reduces operating
costs as compared to using either caustic or soda ash.
Dry and semi-dry scrubbing
There are four types of dry/semi-dry FGD - spray dryer absorber
(SDA), sorbent injection, and dry circulating FGD. Both sorbent
injection and spray dryer absorber processes are non-regenerative
processes. The most common choice to date for dry scrubbing has been
the spray dryer absorber, which is actually a semi-dry process. In this
process atomized lime slurry is sprayed into the flue gas within the
reaction vessel. SO2 reacts with the atomized slurry to form calcium
Volume 6 • Issue 2 • 1000230
Citation: Roy P, Sardar A (2015) SO2 Emission Control and Finding a Way Out to Produce Sulphuric Acid from Industrial SO2 Emission. J Chem Eng
Process Technol 6: 230. doi:10.4172/2157-7048.1000230
sulphite (CaSO3). A part of the CaSO3 reacts with oxygen to form
calcium sulphite (CaSO4). The dried reacted particulates are collected
at the downstream in an electrostatic precipitator or fabric filter. This
process requires production of correctly sized lime slurry droplets and
proper residence time such that the particulates are dry but well related
when reaching the ESP or fabric filters. Although well-proven, this
process can be difficult.
Sorbent Injection technologies require relatively low capital cost. A
sorbent is injected into the boiler or flue gas Dry Injection type processes
are available with lime, trona, activated carbon and other dry reagents.
Such systems with more than 90% have been developed. The activity
of sorbents are dependent on temperatures, e.g., activated carbon
(<100oC), alumina- and silica-supported sorbents (300oC), alumina-
CaO (120-240oC but regeenration with H2 at 750-850oC). Since the flue
gas temperatures in the burners range between 120oC to 250oC, SO2
removal in this temperature is economical for industrial applications
[14]. In circulating FGD solid lime and recirculated byproduct are
injected together. Hydrated lime is injected directly in the CFB reactor.
Water is injected independently. SO2 removal efficiency of 93-97%
can be achieved at a Ca/S molar ratio of 1.2-1.5. The process does not
require any high maintenance mechanical equipment.
To address the issue of lower desuphurization efficiency of semi dry
processes as compared to wet processes, powder particle spouted bed
was developed [15]. Increasing the utilization of lime in semi-dry/dry
FGD systems is one of the current challenges researchers have to deal
with. Most of the approaches that have been applied to increase the
performance of the sorbent make use of the capacity of the additive to
increase the surface area of CaO. The reactivity of hydrated sorbents is
closely related to the sorbent surface area. Inorganic hygroscopic salts
such as barium, potassium, sodium and calcium chlorides and nitrates
of sodium and calcium have been found to be effective in increasing the
performance of hydrated lime. Some of the siliceous materials which
are viable for conditioning of the hydrated material include fly ash,
bottom ash and incinerator ash. Palm oil ash has also been used.
Selection of FGD Processes
Due to differences in site conditions, available resources, and
waste stream requirements, SO2 removal solutions are very site and
process specific. Key design considerations to consider when selecting
a scrubbing technology include inlet SO2 concentration and variation,
efficiency and outlet concentration requirements, scrubbing liquor
pH, liquid-to-gas ratio, prevention of scaling and plugging, liquid
and gas distribution and contact, by-product handling and disposal,
remoteness of site etc. The regenerative FGD process is suitable for
high concentrations of SO2 such as copper converting units. The
concentrated SO2 stream from the regenerative methods can then be
reduced to elemental sulphur with CH4, H2 or CO. The throw-away
method is well suited for coal-based power plants with lower SO2
concentrations (about 1000 rpm). Lime is the most important material
used. About 70% of the FGD capacity in the United States use wet
lime scrubbing with forced oxidation (LSFO), wet lime scrubbing
with magnesium enhanced lime (MEL), or dry lime scrubbing using
conventional spray dryer absorber. Dry lime scrubbing with circulating
fluidized bed absorber is more widely used in Europe. Approximately
75% of the FGD systems installed on utility boilers are either lime or
limestone scrubbing.
There have been significant improvements in the wet lime processes
in recent years that have improved its performance and reliability, and
reduced capital and operating costs. Such improvements include use
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of a single absorber module for power generating units with (capacity
500 MW and greater and increase in sulphur dioxide removal efficiency
(>95%).
The advantages of the wet scrubbing process are relatively high
removal efficiency (90-95%), low cost of operation, minimal safety
hazards (explosion, fires), and ability to collect both gas and particulate
matters. However the disadvantages are wet waste production
(contaminated scrubber liquid), formation of highly corrosive acids,
and high power requirements. Waste water treatment is required in
wet scrubbing systems. The waste stream produced contains sodium
sulfite (for sodium based system), ammonium sulphite (for ammonia
based systems) and gypsum (for limestone based systems). Although
spray towers are most common, the Chiyoda and Alstom Flowpack
immersion technologies and the Advatech Double Contact Flow
Scrubber have gained some market share.
In terms of space requirement, the regenerative systems have
little or no requirement for reagent preparation area. However, they
require significant resources and space for solvent regeneration. Both
regenerable and non regenerable systems can produce a saleable
byproduct. However, since the markets for sodium sulphite or gypsum
are limited, it is more common for the caustic, lime and limestone
non regenerable systems to direct their byproducts to waste. On the
other hand, the regenerable systems direct SO2 into sulphuric acid or
elemental sulphur markets. SO2 can often be readily absorbed by the
sulphur recovery units existing in most refineries, yielding elemental
sulphur as a by-product.
Although the most common desulphurization methods are the
“Wet” types, the total and the annual costs of the “Dry” ones are
considerably less, due to simplicity, less water consumption and
easier residues handling. The “Dry” methods are easily installed and
require less space. Hence, they are good choices for the existing units
modernization [16,17]. FGD can be classified as wet, semidry [15], dry
process. Since the SO2 recovery efficiency in “Dry” methods (50-60%)
is considerably less than the “Wet” ones (93-98%), the dry methods are
recommended in cases where SO2 emission is low.
The scale of operation also influences selection of appropriate FGD
technology. For example, the wet scrubber technology used in utility
power plants is too large and costly for solid waste incinerators. On the
other hand dry sorbent injection may be more suitable option for these
applications due to low capital cost, small footprint, ease of operation,
and flexibility to fuel changes. A new type of gas scrubber called the
double-contact flow scrubber (DCFS) for flue gas desulphurization
has been developed which achieved energy conservation together with
high desulphurization and high dedusting efficiencies by spouting
absorbent liquid from the new type of nozzles located at the bottom of
the scrubber to ensure the better gas liquid contact [15].
The amount of energy consumed by an FGD process has a direct
impact on the power plants heat rate and also on the available net
electric generating capacity. The amount of sulphur to be removed
depends upon the sulphur content of coal and the emissions control
of the requirement. The following table gives an overall comparison of
SO2 control systems [18] Table 1, Figure 1.
Recovery of Sulphuric Acid
Various raw materials that can be used to manufacture sulphuric
acid include elemental sulphur, sulphide ores, spent acid and gases
like H2S. When elemental sulphur is used, solid sulphur is melted and
the liquefied sulphur is then purified and burnt to produce sulphur
Volume 6 • Issue 2 • 1000230
Citation: Roy P, Sardar A (2015) SO2 Emission Control and Finding a Way Out to Produce Sulphuric Acid from Industrial SO2 Emission. J Chem Eng
Process Technol 6: 230. doi:10.4172/2157-7048.1000230
System Percent SO2 reduction Capital cost ($/kw)
Sorbent injection 30-70 50-100
Dry flue gas desulphurization 70-90 80-170
Wet flue gas desulphurization >90 80-150
Table 1: Overall comparison of SO2 control systems.
Figure 1: Flue gas desulphurization process.
dioxide. The gases are cooled and then passed through a multi-stage
converter system. The conversion steps include (i) Conversion of SO2
into SO3 (ii) Absorption of SO3 in H2SO4 for form H2SO4, with addition
of appropriate amount of water to maintain the concentration of H2SO4
[19-22].
Regenerative SO2 recovery systems are available, which are
effective for variety of tail gases with varying SO2 concentrations [23].
Processes for adsorption of SO2 in activated carbon beds and periodical
regeneration of the carbon with water washing to produce dilute H2SO4
of 15-20% concentration have been around since decades [24].
Production of sulphuric acid is considered to be the most viable
option of sulphur recovery from smelter off gas and abatement of
SO2 emissions to the atmosphere. Thus processing of the SO2 off-gas
to sulphuric acid at pyrometallurgical smelters based on sulphidic
ore concentrates of copper, nickel, lead or zinc, is a well-established
process. In process development for metallurgical sulphuric acid plants
a major objective has been to enable the operation with very high
SO2 concentrations, while simultaneously avoiding the generation of
diluted gas.
Among the various FGD processes [25], the DeSONOX process
produces sulphuric acid as the end product. Sulphuric acid can be
produced in the Wellman-Lord Process by aqueous absorption and
desorption, concentration and then oxidation of concentrated SO2 to
sulphuric acid catalytically [15,26].
The wet gas sulphuric acid (WSA) technology developed by Haldor
Topsoe is a very popular and well accepted method to remove SO2 and
recover it in the form of concentrated sulphuric acid of commercial
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grade. In a WSA plant, SO2 conversion is similar to the SO2 conversion
in a conventional acid plant based on absorption, except the catalytic
conversion takes place in a wet gas. The WSA technology treats the
furnace off-gas directly from upstream gas cleaning plants. No further
drying is required, since the humidity present in the off-gas is used to
hydrate the SO3 generated in the converter and produce sulphuric acid.
More than 55 countries use the WSA technology developed by Halder
Topse. Applications include refineries, coal gasification, metallurgical
and mineral industry, power plant. The heat generated during the
oxidation, hydration and condensation processes is principally reused
in the process to preheat the off-gas to the required temperature level,
and also to generate high pressure superheated steam for process use.
This advantage of steam production, coupled with lower water and
power consumption requirements, is particularly important in the
African production environment. Having fewer process components
than conventional acid plants, the WSA technology is a simple and
compact operation, which makes it easier to retrofit into an existing
smelter plant. Further, the WSA technology simultaneously offers the
possibility to treat multiple gas streams arising within the production
facility due to superior flexibility in terms of SO2 concentration and
turndown ratio.
There are two main limitations of the WSA technology. The
concentrations of SO2 in the feed gas inlet should be restricted to
6-7% by volume. This is due to the need of restricting the dew points
of sulphuric acid to around 260oC, from the consideration of the
construction materials in the WSA condenser. Dilution of the gas
with atmospheric air to overcome this limitation would increase the
volume of the gas leading to the increase in the dimension of the plant.
Secondly, since it is a single-contact process, the conversion is limited
to typically 99.4 - 99.7%. Scrubbing of tail gas with caustic or hydrogen
peroxide results higher conversion, but at the expense of additional
investment and operating cost.
To address these issues, Topsoe has introduced the WSA-DC
technology (“DC” means double condensation), that can accept feed
gases with SO2 concentrations of 13 volume% or higher. This technology
is suitable only for applications where the water vapour content of the
gas is controllable. H2S gas with high water vapour content would
result in production of acid of lower concentration.
The SNOx process is based on the WSA process and also includes
integrated selective catalytic reduction DeNOx step. The SNOx process
removes sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulates from the
flue gas, the sulphur is recovered as concentrated sulphuric acid and
the nitrogen oxides are reduced to free nitrogen. The process involves
catalytic reactions and does not consume water or absorbents [14,27].
Apart from the separated dust, no other waste is produced. Since this
process can also handle other sulphurous streams, it is highly interesting
in refineries. SNOx process increases thermal efficiency and reduces
CO2 emission when using high sulphur coal for power generation. The
main advantages of this process are excellent heat recovery, reduced
CO2 emission, no process chemicals, no process water consumption,
no production of waste solids and liquids, valuable sulphuric acid
product, clean technology and low operating and maintenance cost.
MECS Sulfox technology is also a popular and well accepted
technology to produce sulphuric acid from sulphur off gases. This
is based on thermal and catalytic conversion of SO2 into sulphuric
acid. MECS also developed single stage HRS which also reduced the
investment cost in heat recovery system installed in sulphuric acid
plant. The benefits of this technology are no liquid effluent other
than sulphuric acid (the product), very low acid mist emission, high
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Citation: Roy P, Sardar A (2015) SO2 Emission Control and Finding a Way Out to Produce Sulphuric Acid from Industrial SO2 Emission. J Chem Eng
Process Technol 6: 230. doi:10.4172/2157-7048.1000230
SO2 conversion so low SO2 emission, use of proven catalyst and low
operating cost.
Emerging Trends
R&D efforts towards improvement of FGD technologies are
directed towards addressing various issues that impact the cost, SO2
absorption efficiency and energy consumption. Much of the research
efforts on the limestone/gypsum process have been directed towards
understanding the absorption process, which is a complex one due to
the presence of soluble microparticles in the slurry [28]. Conventional
wet limestone-gypsum FGD process has the problem of poor limestone
utilization since limestone is not a very reactive reagent and does not
completely dissolve in the scrubber system [Liu et al 2008]. Limestone
is pulverized to an average size of 5 to 20 lm (95% a 325 mesh) to
improve its utilization, reduce FGD operating costs and solid-waste
disposal volumes, and improve reliability as well as gypsum quality.
However pulverization is associated with significant amount of power
consumption and further increases the operation costs. Avoiding the
requirement of additional power for pulverization has been a major
focus for R&D efforts towards improvement of conventional wet
limestone-gypsum FGD process. One of the approach for increasing
absorption efficiency is the addition of amine. Reversible hydration and
ionization reactions that take place for dissolved SO2 in water solution
and produce bisulphite and sulphite. Adding the amine, to the water
increases the quantity of SO2 dissolved as the amine drives the equilibria
to the right by reacting with the hydrogen ions. Requirement of a large
column packed with various packings or spray tower, rotating-stream
tray scrubber, etc in the traditional SO2 absorption process is responsible
for high capital and operating costs. Improvement in mass transfer
efficiency can reduce the size of columns. Process intensification can
play an important role in this regard. In this context, rotating packed
bed (RPB) has been studied [29]. It rotates a doughnut-shaped packing
element to generate a centrifugal acceleration as high as several
hundred folds of g to intensify mass transfer efficiency. Many gas-
liquid contacting processes, such as distillation, absorption, extraction,
desulphurization, deaeration, reactive precipitation, chemosynthesis,
removal of dust, and making nano-material employ RPB.
To reduce the cost of flue gas purification, development of new
technologies and equipments of simultaneous flue gas desulphurization
and denitrification has become the leading research direction in the air
pollution control field. In the recent years, the interests in simultaneous
desulphurization and denitrification of flue gas increased rapidly. Many
technologies have been proposed, among which the simultaneous
removal of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide by using wet scrubber
is most growing one.
Conclusion
Sulphur dioxide emission control is expected to assume more
and more significance with the emission norms becoming even more
stringent in future. At the same time SO2 treatment methods need to
have minimum waste disposal requirements, and also economical.
Considering these, production of sulphuric acid is one of the best
choice considering its economical values and utilities. The possibility
of stricter regulations regarding GHG emissions in future may raise
issues related to conventional wet scrubbing technologies in utilities.
The limestone-sulphur dioxide reaction produces carbon-dioxide. On
the other hand use of lime of mag-lime in wet scrubbers can be cost
prohibitive [30,31]. The purpose of this study is to review the various
methods of emission reduction of SO2, the installation and operational
cost as well as good environmental performance. Although many of the
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Page 6 of 7
processes for FGD are established since long, need for reducing cost,
energy consumption and SO2 removal efficiency are driving further
R&D efforts. Various techniques for process intensification may play
an important role towards development of better processes for SO2
removal and generation of by-products like H2SO4.
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Volume 6 • Issue 2 • 1000230
Citation: Roy P, Sardar A (2015) SO2 Emission Control and Finding a Way Out to Produce Sulphuric Acid from Industrial SO2 Emission. J Chem Eng
Process Technol 6: 230. doi:10.4172/2157-7048.1000230

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